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If the New York Jets want to retain edge rusher Bryce Huff this offseason, they will have to give him the bag.
Former NFL general manager Randy Mueller joined “The Jake Asman Show” on Wednesday, October 18 and explained the market Huff is expected to receive.
“I think Huff is going to get paid to be honest with you. If he plays like he has this year, someone is going to pay him big money. Now it’s not going to be Joey Bosa money, but someone might pay Huff $22 to $23 million a year, something crazy like that,” Mueller said.
The host Jake Asman seemed stunned by the answer and asked, “Really?”
Mueller defended his answer saying, “Yeah I just think he’s really a good player and that’s a position that is really hard to find. He plays not only as a rusher, he’s really good against the run too.”
Jets Will Have to Dole out Historic Pay Day to Retain Huff
Huff is 25 years of age, and he is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. He is currently playing on a one-year restricted free agent tender for $4.3 million.
Mueller does some work for The Athletic and he said he has been tasked with ranking the top 100 NFL free agents for 2024. He said he hasn’t completed it yet, but he has already made notes labeling Huff “as one of the top guys” that will be available.
The Jets could use the franchise tag on Huff as a last-ditch effort to prevent him from reaching the open market next offseason. Last year’s franchise tag number for a defensive end was $19.73 million, but it fluctuates on a year-to-year basis.
That $19.73 million figure would place Huff No. 10 among the highest paid “edge rushers” in the NFL, per Over The Cap. Although if he received a deal that Mueller projected in the $23 million per year range, that would place him No. 7 on that same list.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said the Jets and Huff “have not had any extensive conversations about a new contract yet” in a column posted on Thursday, October 19.
Huff Is Dominating for the Jets in 2023
Huff has 2.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits through the first six games of the 2023 season.
He is on pace to record seven sacks and 23 quarterback hits this year which would both be career highs for the former Memphis product.
Although he has proven to be even better than those numbers suggest.
“On plays where Huff got pressure, Jalen Hurts, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes combined to complete 6 of 15 passes for 20 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and an 8.3 passer rating while getting sacked four times,” per Rosenblatt.
Huff is constantly making an impact, even if he doesn’t get there for the sack.
No one in the NFL had more pressures than Huff over the last three weeks (23) and on the season he ranks No. 4 in the league in that category, per Rosenblatt. That would be impressive on its own, but it’s even more special when you consider his snap percentage.
Huff has only appeared in 34 percent of the defensive snaps this season for the Jets. If he is garnering these sorts of numbers with only those number of plays, imagine what he could do with even more reps.
These aren’t just prisoner of the moment stats either, over the last two years Huff has a 25.7 percent pressure rate. He is the only player in the NFL that is “over 22 percent (minimum 250) pass rushes)”, per The Athletic.
Huff is going to get paid, that isn’t a question. The real question is how much and for who. General manager Joe Douglas has been praised for finding Huff as an undrafted free agent back in 2020.
However, he will earn even more praise and adoration if he is able to lock in this budding superstar for the foreseeable future on a long-term deal.
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